Schoolchildren's wellbeing and life prospects: Justifying the universal tax on childhood

Neil Thin

Abstract

A comprehensive and child-focused 'wellbeing' approach to schooling is compared here with other approaches that emphasise poverty reduction, human rights, or capabilities, and which fall short of recognising the full range of wellbeing effects of school. Schooling is expected to optimise prospects for good lives and good societies, not just minimise ill-being and social injustice and fulfil the right to education. A capability approach takes wellbeing much more seriously, yet still falls short of recognizing the role of schools in facilitating directly the happiness of pupils. It is imperative that affordable and simple methods are developed to assess and analyse links between schooling and children's wellbeing and life prospects. Expanding on the WeD approach, a fourfold analytical framework is recommended here for exploring this theme by looking at resources, motivations, achievements, and meaning, plus minimizing avoidable harm.

Full Paper (pdf)